Battle of Kisangani (1997) 1997
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 March 1997 – 15 March 1997 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1997 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First Congo War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo, Katangese Tigers, Rwanda, Uganda, Zaire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 0.5193, 25.1961 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Kisangani took place in March 1997 during the First Congo War. The rebels of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), supported by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, took the city defended by the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ) which was loyal to President Mobutu Sese Seko.
Before the battle itself, the air force, Serbian mercenaries and Rwandan Hutu militiamen were not enough to make up for the FAZ's lack of fighting spirit. After a few timid Zairian offensives in January 1997, the rebels commanded by James Kabarebe arrived in the vicinity of the town of Kisangani. Between March 1 and 10, the AFDL's advance was blocked, with both sides suffering losses. On the 14th, a general rebel assault put Mobutist cadres and soldiers to flight, with the latter looting the region as they retreated. Several hundred Rwandan Hutu refugees were killed by the rebels in the weeks that followed. The battle marked the FAZ's inevitable defeat at the hands of Laurent Désiré Kabila's troops, who took Kinshasa in May 1997.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Kisangani (1997) (revision 1374412781), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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